Second Chances: Aidan's Bride (The McKenzie Series #1)

by Lynn Coppersmith

  *****

  As it turned out, it took Naomi two hours to convince Aidan that there were no other competitors for her affection. By the time he was satisfied, it was late in the day.

  They dressed and worked diligently for the rest of the afternoon. Aidan cleaned out the root cellar. There were quite a few empty, dusty jars, as well as jars of unused food that had long since gone bad. Naomi cleaned them out and boiled them. At Aidan’s insistence, she filled many of them with vegetables for herself.

  Aidan packed several crates of vegetables and apples into her root cellar. He stacked the rest on the porch in the shade, ready to be loaded into his wagon when he returned home.

  Naomi made a hearty dinner, and they enjoyed the meal immensely. They had begun to grow more comfortable with one another, and Aidan gleaned small tidbits about her past as they chatted. He was careful not to obviously question her, but he found by telling stories about his own life, she followed suit.

  Sure enough, she did invite him to spend the night. They spent half the night making love. They would sleep and then wake again, eager to once again sample the delights to be had in each other’s arms.

  By the time it was almost dawn, it was all Aidan could do to drag himself out of bed. He said a hasty farewell, quickly hitched the horses, loaded the wagon with the jars of vegetables, and hurried home. Naomi curled beneath the blanket, happy to have another hour or two of sleep.

  As she was drifting to sleep, she smiled. Running a farm was definitely hard work. However, her exhaustion was entirely due to pleasing her man. If he happened to bring her unimaginable pleasure in return, it was that much sweeter. She would just have to learn to function with less sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  A few hours later, Aidan returned early once more. This time, he had baskets of cucumbers, summer squash, and okra in his wagon. Naomi set about making jars and jars of pickles and canned vegetables while he worked on the corral fence.

  At around ten o’clock, Naomi brought him a glass of sweet tea. She had chilled it in the well, and Aidan drank it down with obvious enjoyment. When he had drained the glass without a pause, he sighed and handed it back to her.

  “Thank you. That was delicious.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Even in the shade of the large oak trees, the early September sun was hot. Aidan had removed his shirt, and his upper body was dripping with perspiration. Naomi longed to lick his chest and taste the salty sweat on her tongue.

  Aidan stood with his hands on his lean hips, and he grinned as he looked down at her. Seeing the direction of her longing gaze, he had to tease her.

  “See something you want, Naomi?”

  She nibbled her bottom lip, realizing she had been caught in the act of ogling him. She blushed lightly but held his gaze. “Maybe. Do you?”

  “Most definitely,” he said with a laugh. “But right now, I still have work to do. What do you say? Shall we postpone this line of discussion until this afternoon?”

  Naomi shrugged one shoulder and sighed as she turned toward the cabin. “If you insist,” she said. She turned to give him a saucy wink and a bold glance, and then she returned to her own work.

  By lunchtime, the interior of the cabin was hot, so they decided to eat lunch on the shaded steps of the porch. Naomi had made a pot of beans and cornbread, and they were each content to lean back against a post as they at their meal.

  “What’s next on your list of jobs?” Naomi asked.

  Aidan swallowed a bite before answering. “I need to start chopping firewood. There’s still a stack from when old man Hatcher lived here. That should last you a while, and by the time you use it up, the new stuff should be dry.”

  “I see. Does it get very cold here in the winter?”

  Aidan shrugged. “Sometimes. Usually, our winters are mild considering we are pretty far north. That’s what makes this area so appealing to farmers. We have a long growing season. We can often get multiple cycles of crops harvested each year. Still, we get our share of snow and ice. Occasionally, we even get a blizzard.”

  Naomi shivered involuntarily. “I see,” she said again. “We hardly ever got snow in San Francisco.”

  “Tell me about the city,” Aidan said, trying to sound casual.

  “It’s certainly different from here. It’s changed drastically since it became part of the United States, and also after the gold rush started a few years ago. Now it’s crowded with all sorts of people, many of them looking to get rich quick. It’s always noisy. I had forgotten what it was like to have peace and quiet. It took me a while to get used to the quiet while I was on my way to Oregon. But now I love it … the crickets, the breeze blowing through the trees, the birds singing … you could never hear any of those sounds living in the city.”

  “There must be some advantages to city life,” he prompted. “Otherwise, why would so many people want to live there?”

  Naomi laughed. “True. Many people live in the city, because that’s the only place they can find work. However, there are also an assortment of entertainments and attractions in San Francisco … parties, concerts, shops, restaurants. It’s also right on the ocean, and it’s very scenic. I used to love strolling along the beach”

  She trailed off as she remembered her life there. It seemed like it was ages ago, a lifetime ago, even though she had only left there a few weeks before.

  “Do you miss your life there?”

  “No,” she said without hesitation. She looked out at the meadow in front of her cabin. “I wasn’t happy there for the last several years. Ever since my husband died, I felt as if I was trapped there. I couldn’t breathe.”

  “You must have loved your husband very much,” Aidan ventured tentatively. It pained him to think of her loving another man, but he forced himself to continue. “I’m not surprised you were unhappy after he died.”

  Naomi didn’t know how to answer. She had never felt as close to Richard as she already did to Aidan. However, she couldn’t say that without sounding disloyal to her husband’s memory. She swallowed hard and couldn’t meet Aidan’s eye.

  She longed to tell Aidan that she had never been as happy as she was since she had met him. She wished she could admit that she already loved him more than she had ever loved her late husband. But she had no right to tell him those things. If she did, he would press her to marry him again, and she knew she couldn’t agree to that. It was far better to keep those feelings to herself.

  Aidan watched as emotions rolled across Naomi’s beautiful face. He hated to see her eyes cloud with distress.

  “I’m sorry to have brought up unhappy memories,” he whispered. He cupped her chin and turned her face until she met his eye once more. “Forgive me.”

  Naomi gave him a tender smile and stroked the back of his hand. “There’s nothing to forgive, Aidan. Looking back, I never really fit in there. I was always on the outside looking in. That’s why I had to get away.”

  “I’ll be forever grateful that you came here,” he said. He leaned in to give her a gentle kiss.

  When their lips parted, she was flushed with pleasure, and her eyes shone with obvious joy. “So will I.”

  Their gazes held for several more moments before she drew back with a sigh. She stood and began collecting the dishes.

  “I had best get started on another batch of pickles.”

  “Yep, you’re right.”

  The rest of the afternoon passed with both of them making good progress on their work. Naomi paused every so often to watch as Aidan chopped firewood in the front yard. The muscles on his back and shoulders were beautifully sculpted, and she marvelled as they bunched and stretched. The sight made her ache with desire.

  She could hardly wait for their work to be done for the day. She was just finishing the last of the pickles when he called to her from outside. She emerged onto the porch, wiping her hands on her apron as she looked questioningly at him. He was standing at the foot of the steps.

  “Are you just
about finished?” he asked.

  “Yes, I was just cleaning up, why? Do you need me for something?”

  His answering grin made her knees go weak. He was coated in sweat and small pieces of wood chips. Still, when he held out a hand to her, she eagerly descended the steps and took it.

  “Come,” he said simply.

  Naomi didn’t ask any questions as he led her down a path and through a small stand of trees to the river. When they emerged, she saw an area where the river widened into a deep, shaded pool.

  “Care to cool off with me?”

  As he said the words, Aidan was already removing his boots, socks and breeches. Without waiting for her answer, he turned and dove into the water. He emerged and shook his hair back with a grin.

  “Come on in,” he called. “The water feels wonderful.”

  Naomi had never gone skinny dipping before. She looked around nervously, but they were surrounded on all sides by dense trees.

  “No one is going to see you. Except me, of course. Come on.”

  She quickly undressed, feeling the heat of his gaze as each garment was removed. Finally, she stood naked on the bank. She waded carefully into the shallows, surprised to find the water was chilly. She sucked in a breath and shivered.

  “I don’t know,” she said uncertainly.

  Aidan reached up and snared her hand. He pulled her in, and laughed as she gave a squeal of outrage. She surfaced, sputtering and wiping wet strands of hair out of her eyes.

  “Aidan McKenzie! You beast!”

  She hit him on the shoulder, but he only laughed harder and splashed her in the face. She lunged at him, pummeling his chest with her tiny fists. Aidan twisted her arms behind her back and held her wrists in one hand while he tickled her with the other.

  Naomi screeched and laughed, begging him to stop. He kept up the torture until she was completely out of breath.

  “Have mercy,” she begged, “no more, please.”

  “I’ll stop tickling you if you promise to stop hitting me.”

  “But you deserved it,” she said with a sexy pout.

  Aidan grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Yeah, I guess I did. Come here.”

  He relented and began kissing her in the curve of her neck. When he released her arms, she promptly wound them around his neck.

  “Much better,” Aidan growled, pulling her into his embrace. He cupped her bottom in his palms, and ground his rampant erection against her belly. “Now where did we leave off our conversation earlier this morning? Oh yeah, you were asking whether I saw something I wanted.”

  Naomi moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist as he kept kissing her, making his way inevitably to her aching breasts. She was impatient. She guided him to her entrance and slid down onto his shaft with a sigh. His hot length buried inside her was such a delightful contrast to the cold water.

  “My God, you are beautiful,” he murmured, spreading kisses along her neck and upper breasts. “I can’t get you out of my mind, Naomi. I want you constantly, every moment of every day.”

  “Me too,” she admitted, moaning as he ground deeper into her welcoming body. “Do you think this wanting will ever go away? Do you think we will tire of each other?”

  “Never! In fact, every time I make love to you, I want you more than the time before.” He cupped one breast and ran his thumb across the peak, smiling when she moaned. “What delightful, hard little nipples you have, love.” He grinned as she arched her back to give him better access. “I have to taste them.”

  He suckled one nipple into his hot mouth. He feasted as he probed her with languid strokes. When she was frantic and needy, he ground against her clit, and Naomi shattered. He never paused, savoring her inner contractions.

  He released her nipple with a soft pop and groaned low in his throat. “You kill me when you do that,” he gasped, gripping her hips as he thrust still further into her.

  “What?” she managed.

  “When you squeeze your sweet heat around me,” he groaned again as she repeated the intimate caress. “Yes, just like that, love.”

  She loved pleasuring him, and she continued tightening her inner muscles to his obvious delight. He ducked to her other breast.

  “Come for me again, love.”

  He suckled her breast, and she came apart a second time. She was limp in his arms, conscious only of the blissful sensations as he continued loving her with his hands, lips and body. He continued to claim her with deep, possessive penetrations. Once again, her body had become his, and she used it in every possible way to show how much she loved what he was doing to her.

  She wondered whether his nipples were as sensitive as hers. She explored his chest with open mouthed kisses, and when she reached his nipple and sucked it, he gave a hoarse cry. He gripped her hips and sped up the pace. When he flung her over the summit, he came with her, and they clung to one another as time ceased to be.

  When the last of their contractions began to fade, he carried her to the bank, still embedded in her depths. He sat on a thick patch of grass beneath a tree, and she mewled as he withdrew. He gave a chuckle that was full of masculine pride as he pulled her into the crook of his arm.

  “Don’t worry, Naomi.” He kissed her temple and then let his head fall back on his other arm. He gave a deep sigh of contentment. “There’s more where that came from. Just give me a few minutes to recover.”

  Naomi giggled and rose up on her elbow to kiss the strong line of his jaw. “Good,” she said, “because I can’t get enough of having you inside me.”

  Aidan gave a weak laugh and caressed her bottom. “Demanding woman. You’re definitely going to be the death of me.”

  *****

  Two days later, Aidan entered the cabin midmorning. He had been out in the barn working on Naomi’s tools. Most of them were in relatively good condition, they were simply rusty from disuse. However, the plow needed repair.

  Naomi greeted him with a smile as she ladled steaming pickled beets into jars. Her hair was tied in a bun, but a few tendrils had come loose and curled beguilingly around her jaw and down her neck.

  “How is it going out there?” she asked cheerfully.

  Aidan returned her smile. “Good, but your plow needs a new frog. The old one is broken.”

  She laughed and gave him a questioning look. “I beg your pardon? What do frogs have to do with a plow?”

  Aidan rolled his eyes, but his grin widened. “A frog is part of the plow. I’m going to ride into town and have the blacksmith see if he can fix the old one. If not, he can probably have one made in a day or two. I was coming to see if you wanted to ride along with me.”

  Her face showed obvious disappointment. “Oh, I can’t right now. I’m in the middle of canning these beets, and there’s blackberry jam almost ready on the stove. I have to get it into the jars.”

  Aidan looked torn. “I could wait for you if you want. We could go later.”

  She nibbled her lip and finally sighed. “As much as I would like to go, I really shouldn’t. I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on, and I wanted to bake a couple of pies for you to take home to your brothers.”

  Aidan shrugged. “Alright. Do you need anything else from town?”

  “Actually, yes. I have a list of a few things. Are you sure you don’t mind picking them up for me?”

  “Not at all.”

  She paused long enough to give him the list, the money to pay for everything, and a lingering farewell kiss.

  Aidan grinned down at her. “You sure don’t make it easy for me to leave, you know.”

  “Good,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll have lunch ready by the time you get back.”

  Aidan rode into town and went to the blacksmith’s shop. The broken piece was too rusted to warrant repair, so he arranged to have a new piece made.

  The blacksmith was a talkative man. Aidan stood talking with him for quite a while. They chatted about this year’s harvest, the weather predictions for the coming winter, and gene
ral events going on in the area. Finally, Aidan wished the smithy a pleasant day and made arrangements to return in a couple of days to pick up the new frog.

  Aidan whistled as he strolled to the general store. He entered with a smile. “Good morning, Mr. Thompson. How are you today?”

  Mr. Thompson gave him a puzzled frown as he nodded his head. “Fine, fine. I have to say, the strangest thing happened a little while ago.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  Mr. Thompson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, Mr. Lawrence was here buying a few things. He saw you ride by on your way to the smithy, and he just left. He didn’t even finish making his purchase.”

  Aidan felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and he fixed Mr. Thompson with a frown. “Where did he go?”

  “I have no idea. He just rushed out, mounted his horse, and rode off. He was headed out toward your farm, last I saw him.”

  Aidan turned on his heel and headed for the door. “Thanks,” he tossed over his shoulder.

  Aidan didn’t know what the man was up to, but he didn’t have a good feeling about it. He ran to his own horse and raced back to Naomi’s farm, as fast as his horse would carry him.

  *****

  Naomi had just finished cleaning up after making the blackberry jam when she heard a horse trotting up the lane. She had opened the door to combat the heat in the cabin. Her back was turned to the door when she heard footsteps on the porch.

  “You’re back early,” she called with a smile. “I thought you would be gone for at least another hour. I haven’t made lunch yet.”

  “That’s alright. I didn’t come for lunch.”

  She whirled to face the door and clutched a hand to her throat. “Mr. Lawrence,” she cried. “You scared the daylights out of me!”

  He let his eyes drop suggestively down her body. She had undone the first few buttons on her bodice due to the heat, and his eyes lingered on the shadowed valley visible between her breasts. His lips turned into a leering grin.

  “My apologies, Mrs. Tisdale. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wanted to stop by once again and offer you my services.”